Aid for Trade Initiative for the Arab States (AfTIAS) Program

The Aid for Trade Initiative, a Global Initiative, was launched by the World Trade Organization (WTO) during the 6th WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting in 2005. The Initiative aims at strengthening the capacity of developing countries to participate in and benefit from international trade.
ITFC, on behalf of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has been following the AfT since the very beginning alongside other regional and international development organizations. Since 2012, ITFC has provided its full support in launching and managing the AfT Program for the Arab Region - the Aid for Trade Initiative for the Arab States (AfTIAS).

AfTIAS 1.0 Program

The 1st Phase of the AfTIAS Program (AfTIAS 1.0) was designed and launched by the ITFC, on behalf of the IsDB Group in November 2013.
It is a multi-donor, multi-country and multi-agency program, aiming to “foster Arab trade through enhancing enterprise competitiveness and facilitating trade”.
AfTIAS Phase 1 (2014-2018) had a US$ 10.5 million budget, supported by seven donors, five UN agencies and four other executing institutions contributed to implementing a total of 28 projects in 19 Arab countries.